Saturday, December 08, 2007

NCAA Playoff - Georgia vs. Oklahoma

Once again, I officially call to order the Kings of the Roundtable....I have brought together the blogosphere's best and brightest to breakdown college football....the Fab Five are Zach of The Big Picture, Graig of Money Shot, Jon of Complete Sports, Virgil of The Ship of Fools (formerly of Wasting Company Time), and me (Rick) of Stiles Points.....today we breakdown the second of the four first round games in our Dream 8-team playoff to determine this year's National Champion....now to our thoughts on today's match-up.....

First round playoff game#5 Georgia Bulldogs (10-2) vs. #4 Oklahoma Sooners (11-2)Oklahoma favored by 6.5Game to be played at the Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale

Virgil of The Ship of FoolsTwo of the best, and most inconsistent, teams in the nation match-up in the second game of the tournament. Both of these teams have looked dominant for long stretches of the season, but both have inexplicable losses to inferior teams, with Oklahoma losing to Colorado and Texas Tech, and Georgia losing to South Carolina and Tennessee. Both teams favor the ground game, so this will be a tough match-up between UGA's Knowshon Moreno and Oklahoma's tandem of DeMarco Murray and Allen Patrick. In the end, I favor Matthew Stafford, who has the experience of two full seasons under center in the tough SEC over redshirt OU frosh QB Sam Bradford. Stafford's experience and ability not to make mistakes ends up being the difference. Georgia wins a close one.Georgia 20 Oklahoma 17

Jon of Complete SportsThis sounds a little funny to say since they are ranked #4, but I think Georgia has flown under the radar a bit this year. I mean, despite being a 2-loss team in the SEC, hardly anyone talked about these guys in the National Championship talk. Yes, South Carolina and @ Tennessee aren't great losses, but look at who they beat: They won at Florida, they stomped Auburn, they beat Kentucky (who happened to beat LSU). This is a talented football team. Matthew Stafford is enormously talented, and Knowshon Moreno and Thomas Brown are an excellent 1-2 duo at RB. They have playmakers offensively, and they're talented defensively. Oklahoma is obviously a very good team, but I like Georgia to be able to pressure Sam Bradford, cause some turnovers, and then allow some of the playmakers offensively to make plays.Georgia 27 Oklahoma 24

Graig of Money ShotThis is a very interesting matchup as these are two of the most storied programs in college football. I like Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno making plays for the Bulldog offense. However, young guys tend to make mistakes when the spotlight is on them. The way Oklahoma came out and dismantled Missouri in the Big 12 championship game makes me think that the big, physical Sooner defense frustrates the young kids from Georgia. Sam Bradford doesn't turn the ball over and the OU ground game mauls the Georgia front 7. This game won't be that close.Oklahoma 38 Georgia 16

Rick of Stiles PointsGosh darn, this may be the toughest game to pick....the Dawgs were playing some great ball at the end of the season...Knowshon Moreno is one dynamic back and defensive coordinator Willie Martinez has the defense playing well....the Sooners were one concussion away from playing for the national title....if Sam Bradford does not get hurt against Texas Tech, they would have won that game.....this will be a back-and-forth game, but in the end, Oklahoma wins real close....Oklahoma 24 Georgia 23

Well, there is a tie and Zach must have still been partying from The Big Picture's birthday party on Friday....so, I went to a higher source to break the tie - my 76-year-old dad, Ignatius....he didn't give a reason, he didn't give a score - all he said was Oklahoma....so a decision has been made....So Let It Be Written - So Let it Be Done - the Roundtable rules 3-2 in favor of Oklahoma advancing and playing Ohio State in the one semi-final...check back Wednesday for our thoughts on the Virginia Tech-Missouri game....